Culture & Etiquette

1. duodji

   Duodji (Sami handicraft)

   Usage

   Traditional Sami handicraft and everyday objects. Hard duodji is made of wood and antler, soft duodji of textiles and hide. The word covers both the work and the finished object

   Grammar Note

   A noun. Duodji is a cultural concept covering craft work and its products, not just souvenirs

2. gákti

   Gákti (traditional Sami costume)

   Usage

   The Sami national costume, still worn today. Its colours, patterns and cut can tell the family, village or region of the wearer, and men's and women's versions differ

   Grammar Note

   A noun; the plural is gávttit. Each area has its own style, and North Sami regions have several

3. goahti

   Goahti (traditional Sami hut or tent)

   Usage

   A traditional Sami hut or tent covered on the outside with turf, earth or timber. It resembles a lávvu but is often built larger

   Grammar Note

   A noun. In Norwegian it is called gamme, in Finnish kota

4. lávvu

   Lávvu (traditional Sami tent)

   Usage

   The traditional tent that nomadic Sami have used since ancient times. It is easy to move and suits a nomadic life, and is built from several straight poles joined at the top

   Grammar Note

   A noun. Mind the spelling with á and vv

5. luohti

   Joik (traditional Sami song)

   Usage

   The traditional folk music of the Sami, which once also had an important place in Sami religion

   Grammar Note

   A noun. The verb "to joik" is juoigat

6. juoigat

   To joik

   Usage

   To sing in the traditional Sami way, to perform a joik

   Grammar Note

   The infinitive (dictionary form). A person who joiks is a juoigi

7. juoigi

   Joiker

   Usage

   A person who joiks. The word often appears in festival and concert programmes

   Grammar Note

   A noun, the agent form of the verb juoigat

8. boazu

   Reindeer

   Usage

   A deer (Rangifer tarandus). Both bulls and cows have antlers, and in winter it eats lichen

   Grammar Note

   A noun. The form changes between boazu and the compounding stem bohcco- (bohccobiergu = reindeer meat)

9. boazodoallu

   Reindeer husbandry

   Usage

   A livelihood practised in the Nordic countries and Russia, mainly by the Sami. The reindeer roam freely, and the herds are marked every year

   Grammar Note

   A compound: boazu ("reindeer") + doallu "operation, upkeep"

10. siida

    Siida (Sami reindeer-herding community or village)

    Usage

    A group of families or kin who herd reindeer together, or a Sami village. It can also mean the herding district itself

    Grammar Note

    A noun. It also appears in compounds such as boazosiida "reindeer-herding siida"

11. sieidi

    Sieidi (sacred site of old Sami religion)

    Usage

    A holy place and sacrificial site in the old Sami religion, often a specially shaped stone or rock hollow, where fish or reindeer fat was offered

    Grammar Note

    A noun for a historical and cultural concept. At visits, follow local guidance

12. Sámi leavga

    The Sami flag

    Usage

    Adopted in 1986 at the 13th Nordic Sami Conference in Åre, Sweden. The circle stands for the sun (red) and the moon (blue)

    Grammar Note

    Two words: Sámi ("Sami", the genitive of Sápmi used like an adjective) + leavga "flag"

13. Sámi soga lávlla

    The Sami national anthem

    Usage

    Words by Isak Saba, written as a poem in 1906. It was adopted as the Sami national song at the 1986 Sami Conference, and the melody was approved in 1992

    Grammar Note

    Three words meaning "the song of the Sami people": Sámi "Sami", soga "people, kin", lávlla "song"

14. Sámediggi

    The Sami Parliament

    Usage

    The parliament elected by the Sami. There is one each in Norway (1989), Finland (1996) and Sweden (1993)

    Grammar Note

    A compound: sámi ("Sami") + diggi "assembly". The Norwegian one is written Norgga Sámediggi, with the country name in the genitive

15. guksi

    Guksi (traditional wooden Sami cup)

    Usage

    A traditional Sami cup made of wood. It is widely sold to tourists as a souvenir

    Grammar Note

    A noun. In Finnish it is called kuksa

16. čoarvi

    Antler, horn

    Usage

    The antler or horn of reindeer and other animals; also a hard material used in duodji

    Grammar Note

    A noun covering both "horn" and "antler"

17. Sámi allaskuvla

    Sámi allaskuvla (Sami University of Applied Sciences)

    Usage

    A higher-education institution founded in 1989 in Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino)

    Grammar Note

    Two words. allaskuvla = alla ("high") + skuvla "school", i.e. a higher-education institution

18. Beaivváš Sámi Našunálateáhter

    Beaivváš Sami National Theatre

    Usage

    The Sami national theatre, founded in 1981 and based in Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino). Its aim is to strengthen Sami identity and culture

    Grammar Note

    A proper name; use it as spelled. The š is pronounced like English sh

19. Sámi Radio

    Sami Radio

    Usage

    Radio broadcasting in Sami. It is run by the public broadcasters of Norway (NRK), Sweden (SR) and Finland (Yle)

    Grammar Note

    Two words. NRK Sápmi has its head office in Kárášjohka (Karasjok)

20. davvisámegiella

    Northern Sami (language)

    Usage

    The name of the language used in this app, Northern Sami. Lule, South, Inari and Skolt Sami are other Sami languages, not dialects of it

    Grammar Note

    A compound: davvi ("north") + sámegiella "Sami language". Forms such as davvisámegillii also occur

21. sápmelaš

    Sami person

    Usage

    The Sami's own word for a Sami person; the plural is sápmelaččat. Use this self-name, not outdated names given from outside

    Grammar Note

    A noun that also works as the adjective "Sami". It is written in lowercase

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